We believe that Michigan’s future is contingent on the ways we prepare and support the adults of tomorrow. The Lab is involved in several efforts to improve how young people prepare for and succeed in early adulthood – from workforce and career training to post-secondary education, we’re helping our partners better prepare the workforce of the future.
In an effort to ensure all Michigan high school students are on paths to economic success, the Lab has partnered with Michigan Department of Education’s Office of Career and Technical Education and the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity to study the relationship between various career pathways, including high school career and technical education courses (CTE) and postsecondary pathways, and long-term outcomes such as employment, earnings, and postsecondary enrollment. While the State, districts, and local schools exercise a great deal of control over CTE compared to other aspects of education, we do not know much about the relationship between CTE and these important. Our findings will provide actionable information to state and local administrators who must decide how to organize and fund these programs.
As a part of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s economic development strategy, several programs are focused on improving post-secondary degree and credential attainment. These programs include: Detroit Drives Degrees, the Detroit Promise, and the Detroit College Access Network. The Youth Policy Lab serves as the strategic data partner to the Chamber, supporting its vision of improving the talent pipeline in southeast Michigan region by increasing postsecondary access and success.
The Youth Policy Lab launched the Michigan Data & Policy Fellowship program in 2019 to provide the State of Michigan technical assistance and strategic support to achieve specific and measurable improvements in social policies and programs operated by the state. Our current Fellowship with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (MDLEO) is focused on improving economic opportunities and outcomes for justice-involved individuals.
The Youth Policy Lab partnered with the Mayor’s Office, Connect Detroit, Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC), and other key stakeholders to evaluate the impact of the Grow Detroit’s Young Talent summer youth employment program on a variety of academic and non-academic outcomes. In the first year of our partnership, the Lab found that participants were more likely to remain enrolled in school, take the SAT, and graduate high school. The Lab also investigated additional questions to inform program design and support continuous improvement efforts. This work included a survey with the Junior Police Cadets component of the program and studying workforce outcomes associated with participation in GDYT.
NAF is an educational non-profit focused on preparing high school students for postsecondary education and/or the workforce through career exploration. It operates industry-themed learning academies within existing high school structures. These academies are comprised of courses with career-focused curricula and associated work-based learning opportunities. The Youth Policy Lab partnered with NAF to analyze the characteristics and outcomes of NAF students in Detroit to understand how students who enroll in NAF compare before, during, and after high school to students who do not participate.
Winning Futures operates school-based workforce prep mentoring programs in Metro-Detroit high schools and launched a new four-year experiential learning Workforce Prep Model pilot in Fall 2018. The Lab evaluated the program’s impact on a variety of student outcomes such as grades, school attendance, high school graduation, post-secondary enrollment, sense of self efficacy, and goal-setting attitudes.
The Detroit Promise Path pilot is an add-on to the Detroit Promise scholarship program that is designed to improve student outcomes by incorporating evidence-based support components. The Lab was engaged by MDRC, the primary research organization evaluating this pilot, to provide supplemental, qualitative evaluation of the impact of this program.
AdviseMI is a college advising program aiming to increase the number of high school students who enter and complete post-secondary education. The Lab evaluated the AdviseMI program, examined the fidelity to the model, and assessed the impact on the college enrollment rates for high schools where advisors are placed.
Detroit Public Schools Community District, the Detroit Mayor’s Office, and the Youth Policy Lab have partnered to evaluate the impact of career technical education (CTE) and other career-focused education programs in Detroit on student outcomes. This evaluation seeks to understand which Detroit students participate in which are making a difference for participants, and how to best support continuous improvement in these areas.
